So wonders Reuters, reporting on the ongoing trial of Private Manning:

Judge Colonel Denise Lind was left to wrestle with this question when the court-martial of Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is accused of the largest leak of classified material in U.S. history, last convened a week ago.

Manning’s attorneys had argued that Twitter postings offered by prosecutors did not meet evidence standards.

A familiar name offers some persuasive authority on the subject:

“It’s generally … not enough to offer a printout of a Tweet. Usually you need more than that because it’s so easy to manufacture that kind of stuff,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a law professor at George Washington University.

And there’s this:

Facebook itself has a site – Law Enforcement Online Requests – for police seeking account records.

The views expressed on this blog are offered in the contributors' personal capacities. They do not speak for, and their views should not be imputed to, any other organization, agency, or entity. The views expressed in this blog are those of the individual authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of any military service, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Click here for important disclaimers.